Just Another Day in the Life of a Senior . . .

Early in the morning, I heard frantic knocking on my door. Next door neighbors had a raccoon invasion during the night for their mobile home.  The raccoon had actually torn the skirting off the mobile home, and they wanted me to come and check it out. The man had a hoe and was banging on the skirting of his mobile home, causing further damage. He is disabled and cannot always understand everything that needs to happen. So his idea was just to kill it. He already had a raccoon get into the roof of his mobile home and ended up paying to get that fixed, so it is understandable that he just wanted to do whatever it took to rid himself of this problem. But I had to carefully remind him that it is against the law to kill wildlife, even something like a destructive raccoon.

It has been very cold here at night and even during the day. I had this feeling that it was a raccoon looking for a warm place to nest or possibly a pregnant raccoon looking for a warm place to have her kits.

Since my neighbor is unable to get down on the ground and look under the mobile home (and I am not a lot better off), I went over with digital camera and flashlight to survey the damage and try to figure out what to do next.   When I stuck my head and part of my body under the mobile home after making sure the raccoon was nowhere close, I was able to get photos of what was going on underneath. The raccoon had apparently torn a rather large hole in the moisture barrier under the home and actually managed to get all the way to the front of the home. There was insulation lying all around the ground underneath.  The woman of the house had noted that she had heard its noises up near the front end of the house.  So apparently it had burrowed its way to the front

My first thought was to borrow one of the neighbor's humane traps and try to catch it and then release it into the wild.  And we did set the trap the first night.  But then talking to other neighbors about how vicious those raccoons could be, I had second thoughts about that.  I am a senior myself and not that strong.  After thinking more about it, I called Animal Control, and then I was shocked to learn that they will no longer come and remove a wild animal on your property, and it is illegal for private people to remove them either.  You can go to court and the fines are very large.  So there was really one option, and that was to call a private removal place.  It isn't cheap. $130 for two traps, and if they catch more than one, it is extra. My neighbors and I are splitting the cost; I too have something at stake with a tortoise that goes out into the yard and other small pets at risk.

This is just one of the things seniors have to contend with. Are the raccoons the responsibility of the park or are they the responsibility of the owners?  I've spent a good amount of my time trying to find answers through the various mobile home owners' associations, legal organizations that help seniors and in the end result, it looks as though it is up to us to fight our own battles mostly.

Whatever happens, it was important to me that the raccoons be treated humanely. I love all creatures, and they are just trying to ensure their own survival. It isn't like they are just looking to wreck havoc.  Like us, they need shelter and food and warmth when it is cold.  So as long as they can be relocated where they will not be doing harm, but be able to survive, I guess that will be enough.  Now, how are we seniors to survive?